BY ROGER CLEAVELAND
WATERBURY — You could have closed your eyes at the Holy Cross girls basketball game Wednesday and still envisioned what the Crusaders are all about this season simply by listening to the demands barked out by highly expressive coach Frank Lombardo.
“Don’t shoot the ball from out there!” “Get the ball inside!” “See how easy that is?” “She’s open, give it to her in there!”
It’s not that the Crusaders are limited in their options this season. As always, they have plenty of talent and ultimately they will rely on their aggressive, active team defense more than they will on any single player.
But they also know that when they need a basket or when they are looking for an area of strength offensively, they can call on their heart and soul, otherwise known as Meah Austin and Aiyana Ward.
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It’s actually difficult to tell which of the two 5-foot-10 senior forwards is the heart and which is the soul of the team. In fact, they often take turns playing those particular roles. At any given point in a game, one will provide the necessary inside scoring presence, and the other will contribute whatever complementary support is needed be it rebounding, energy or simply a huge distraction that opposing defenses must respect.
Austin said they are like twins on the court, not just because their games are similar but because they have a knack for knowing where each other will be and how to help one another thrive.
“I feel like Aiyana and I have always had a real good connection working well together,” Austin said. “We know our strengths, and we try to execute them on both of our behalves. If she is open, dump it into her. If I am open, dump it into me. We work really well and have pretty good unspoken communication. I think it will get stronger as the season goes along.”
The Crusaders are 6-1 this season with the only loss coming to perennial Class LL power Mercy. Lombardo knows his team is a work in progress, and while he tries to construct another championship quality club he is going to rely on his dynamic post duo.
“The strength of our team obvious is Meah Austin and Aiyana Ward,” Lombardo said. “They are both two year starters and basically four-year players although Aiyana missed her sophomore season with an injury. Our perimeter players are just gaining varsity experience. So for the last couple of practices we have been working on lobbing the ball toward the basket, because Aiyana and Meah will go up and get it and make a play out of it.”
During Wednesday’s 60-49 victory over rival Sacred Heart, Austin finished with 21 points and 21 rebounds while Ward contributed 18 points and 15 rebounds.
“With us being pretty dominant and knowing what we need to do, me and Aiyana work really well together,” Austin said. “We work really hard to get the ball inside, because that is the easiest way to score or get a foul. Whoever is in the post that has always been a goal of ours is to pound it inside and try to get a layup or draw a foul.”
Part of Wednesday’s success stemmed from the fact that the Hearts just couldn’t match up inside because their strength is their phenomenal guard play from Treasure Coleman and Aamya Rivera. But Ward and Austin believe they can be successful against anyone when they are playing well together and their teammates are supporting them as well as they have this season.
“I feel like we always want to come out strong and show (the Hearts) what we are made of because they are our rivals, but we do that with every other team,” Austin said. “We want to show them that we are Holy Cross and that we are going to play hard defense, and we are going to play unselfishly, and we are going to get each other the ball.”
Both players said their teammates certainly provide all the help they need to form a great team. Senior Julia Mecca gives the Crusaders balance with her great 3-point shooting ability and scrappiness, and juniors Allie Brown and Hannah Brown are also capable of scoring and playing unselfishly with tremendous energy.
Everyone is still working on getting better so the Crusaders can make another run like they did last season all the way to the Class L state final. Even Ward and Austin know they can get better.
“We are still trying to get that game where we both work super well together at the same time, but I think right now it is paying off that when she has it going we keep passing the ball to her, and then when I am hot I get it,” Ward said. “We just keep going back and forth until they can’t stop both of us.”
Jim Shannon Republican-American